Miami Dolphins: Yes, They’ve Got a Bright Future

It was that type of feeling in the atmosphere when the Dolphins went up to Foxborough, Massachusetts to play against the New England Patriots. The game didn’t go quite as planned as the Dolphins got completely ransacked as they lost the game 36-7 to fall to 3-4 on the season. Tom Brady threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns as the Patriots went on to become one of the five undefeated teams in the league. With the win, the Patriots became the fifth defending Super Bowl champion to start the season with a 7-0 record.

All of that occurred on October 30, 2015.

Looking forward to our present day on January 3, 2016, the Miami Dolphins played against the New England Patriots once again but this time, it wasn’t the blowout that we first originally watched. The Dolphins could’ve quit during this game and could’ve packed it in and not played with effort but that’s not how this team was created. Instead, Miami put on its hard hat and they went to work defeating the Patriots 20-10.

Miami defeated New England because they stuck to playing their game. Firstly, the biggest piece of credit has to get placed on the Miami defense. Had it not been for the efforts all over the field on defense, the game would’ve been busted wide open. Miami forced Tom Brady all day into errant throws because they kept bringing the pressure. Brady was sacked twice during the game and at one point he even threw as many as four incompletions in a row. Brady finished with one of the most pedestrian games of the season as he finished going 12-of-21 for 134 yards and no touchdowns.

Additionally, the defensive secondary should be proud too. The Dolphins didn’t allow a single Patriots receiver over 63 yards of offense. The entire receiving core for the Patriots alone only had 13 catches for 140 yards. Brent Grimes was back on his game today and was making it difficult for anyone to go against him in coverage. Also, interim head coach Dan Campbell believes that his rookie safety Tony Lippett could become a legit starter in the NFL. Against New England, Lippett made one of the signature plays to help his coaches belief in his game.

Don’t let this loss fool you, this was a game that the Patriots needed to win. For the Patriots, they wanted to win this game because they would’ve clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Nevertheless, with this loss to Miami, they’ll now have to get ready to travel in order to reach the Super Bowl.

Though the Super Bowl isn’t in the Dolphins future this season, when it was all said and done this Dolphins team that competed against New England was the team that everyone has been waiting to see the entire season. Miami has more than enough talented players to compete with any team in the league, and this was exactly the type of game we all needed to see in order to continue to believe it.

With the win against the Patriots in the final game of the season, it’s not a surprise that we’re still feeling that the Miami Dolphins have a bright future because they really do. This Dolphins season this year has been a roller coaster that has only seemed to reach peak heights during the most obscure moments. This team hasn’t been able to get it together and click on all cylinders but that’s because they haven’t had the proper leadership to push them into their destinies.

However now that the tide is starting to turn in Miami Gardens, it won’t be long until the organization gets structured correctly again. Miami will have the opportunity to bring in a coach next year that can change their fortune around.

Either this will be the last year where we feel that the Dolphins have underachieved or this year will be beginning of the new chapter for this franchise. I’d like to think on the latter thought.

D’Joumbarey A. Moreau covers sports in Miami-Dade & Broward County. You can follow him on Twitter@DJoumbarey.